The Fallen Prince - Loki fanfiction ✓

10. Jotunheim

Jotunheim was just as Heimdall had described: a cold barren wasteland. Everything was in ruins. The six warriors had to jump from stone to stone every now and then as they walked up to a high rise structure. 

"Where are they?" asked Lady Sif in a tense voice.

"Hiding." Thor sounded somewhat smug. "As cowards usually do."

Before them was the highest point of the structure, with walls that stretched forward on both sides. A deep voice echoed between the stone walls. "You've come a long way to die, Asgardians." Loki looked up to see the king of Jotunheim watching them from his high seat.

"How did you get into Asgard?" Thor shouted at the king, who looked merely annoyed at their presence.

"The house of Odin is full of traitors," Laufey's deep voice said, his red gaze cold. 

Thor demanded answers, but the Jotun king didn't give him any. Loki looked around wearily, there were Jotuns standing all around them on top of the walls, they had to be careful.

"You long for battle. You crave it," Laufey said to Thor, an underlying anger lacing his voice. "You're nothing but a boy trying to prove himself a man."

As Loki knew it would, that remark rubbed Thor the wrong way. "This boy has grown tired of your mockery," his brother said with arrogance, the same arrogance that would get him killed someday.

Loki didn't want to get killed, not today, which meant he had to reign in his brother. "Thor, stop and think," he said to Thor, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Look around you, we are outnumbered."

But the blond warrior shrugged him off. "Know your place, brother!" 

Loki seethed at his brother's superciliousness, at that moment it was very tempting to just step back and watch what Thor's big mouth would get him. Yet, the dark haired prince would very much like to get home in one piece and the chances for that were bigger if Thor would just take up Laufey's current offer to let them walk away now. 

"We will accept your most gracious offer," Loki said to the Jotun king. "Come on, brother," he urged.

To his relief Thor slowly turned, he must have done the math and come to the conclusion their chances were slim. There were Frost Giants all around them, some of them were slowly coming closer. 

"Run back home, little princess," a bulky Frost Giant said tauntingly to Thor's back.

"Damn..." Loki sighed and conjured up a dagger in each hand as Thor turned on his heels and swung Mjölnir at the insolent Frost Giant's chin. 

The blue giant went flying, with Thor asking cheerily who was next as battle ensued. Loki stepped lightly from stone to stone, using his slender frame in his advantage as the giants attacked him. The Jotuns were formidable opponents, they were big, strong and cunning. And their power to use ice as a weapon was a force to reckon with, you didn't want to get sliced up by the scraggy ice blades that sprouted from their arms and hands.

Loki stood close to a cliff and cleverly made use of his power to create illusions of himself to send a Frost Giant tumbling down into the abyss. Why tire yourself with fighting if you could kill your enemy without breaking a sweat? He overlooked the battlefield to see Lady Sif being overpowered by an exceptionally large Jotun and threw a dagger to eliminate the giant. The Warriors Three stood their ground, but none of them made as many victims as Thor did. The firstborn son of Odin truly lived up to his reputation, taking out Frost Giants all around him with his mighty hammer. In between swings he still found the time to taunt his opponents, declaring they weren't much of a challenge for him. Loki chuckled when Thor imitated the roar of an angry Frost Giant before knocking him out cold with his hammer. The blond warrior wasn't fit to rule from a throne, but on the battlefield he had no equal. Loki would be one of the first to admit that, quietly, from behind his hand.

"Don't let them touch you!" sounded a warning call across the rocky grounds. 

Loki saw Volstagg clutching his forearm, where it was touched by a Frost Giant. But he didn't have much time to worry about it, as there were still Jotuns coming at them from all directions. The dark haired prince killed two Jotuns and stabbed a third, as his opponent grabbed him by the wrist. His icy grip made Loki's leather armour freeze up and crumble beneath his touch. Loki looked on in shock when his skin was exposed, expecting it to be painful. But to his surprise it didn't hurt at all, no, it was something else that horrified him. The skin on his lower arm and hand slowly turned pale blue, the same colour as the Jotun hand that gripped his wrist. Loki looked up to the Jotuns face, seeing a mix of surprise and understanding in the giants red eyes. He quickly stabbed the Frost Giant again, killing him this time so he could get away from his touch.

Loki's attention was soon needed on staying alive again, as there were more and more Frost Giants joining the fight. The six Asgardians fought hard, but they were outnumbered. Fandral was the first to get seriously hurt, as spikes of ice suddenly shot up from the ground, piercing his shoulder. His fellow warriors quickly lifted him up and Loki yelled they must go. Thor on the other hand, stepped up his game, swinging his hammer even harder. He hit multiple Jotuns in one go, the big giants falling down like trees under an axe.

Thor's ruckus shook the realm, making the ice crack. It woke up a Jotunheim Beast from its slumber in the ice, or did it wake on Laufey's call? One way or another, Loki was shocked to see the Beast emerging from the ice. Thor was busy fighting off his enemies, calling for lightning as he smashed his hammer to the ground. A mighty shockwave ran through the rocks and everything started to collapse. The retreating Warriors Three, Lady Sif and Loki had to jump to prevent from falling in sudden gaps in the ground. Thor followed a little behind, as did the Beast, but only the blond warrior made it across the gaps. They saw the Beast disappear when the ground beneath its paws opened and swallowed him whole.

The Asgardians were now cornered, a deep abyss behind their backs and Laufey's army in front of them. Loki's mind was racing, searching for a way out, as a roar made everyone look up. The Beast emerged from the abyss, pulling itself upright on its hind legs. It roared another time, its mouth open wide, as something red flashed through the air, leaving the monster with a gaping hole in the back of its head. It fell again, this time with no hope for return. There was no time to rejoice, because hundreds of Jotuns were closing in on the Asgardians.

Loki was getting more worried by the second, things were looking bleak. Because he was as tense as a knocked arrow, Loki jumped when the sky suddenly cracked open and the rainbow lights of the Bifrost pierced through. A large figure appeared, riding an eight-legged horse. Loki never thought he would be this happy to see Odin and Sleipnir.

"Father! We'll finish them together!" Thor shouted, pumping his hammer in the air.

"Silence!" The Allfather wasn't pleased, to say the least.

Loki watched as Odin and Laufey saw face to face. 

"Allfather. You look weary," the Jotun king said. Odin didn't answer, he just stared at the other. "Your boy sought this out," Laufey told the Allfather.

"You are right. These are the actions of a boy, treat them as such," Odin answered, proposing they would maintain the longstanding truce between Jotunheim and Asgard. Loki didn't think that would get him far with the provoked Jotun king.

"We are beyond diplomacy now," Laufey sneered. "He'll get what he came here for: war and death!"

"So be it," Odin replied in an even voice. Loki sucked in his breath as he saw Laufey form an ice dagger, hidden in his hand. But the Allfather foresaw his actions and sent the Jotun king flying with a burst of power from his staff Gungnir.

The Bifrost opened up again and took the seven Asgardians home.